Catcher&#39;s mask



March 28, 1950 H. GOLDSMITH ET AL CATCHERS MASK Filed July 19, 1947 s a S N v R 3% w J v Iva BY Patented Mar. 28, 1950 CATCHERS MASK:

Hugo Goldsmith and Howard-J. Wilkena-Cincine nati, Ohio, assignors to Sport -Products',,lnc. Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 19, 1947,'Serial- No. 762,062

1 Claim.

1.. Our invention relates to catchers masks for baseball and other types of- "games wherein the players are in danger of injuryfrom the ball or.

other equipment used in the game-and also for use. by umpires, officials and .such in athletic contests.

In the Hugo Goldsmith Patent 1,475,991 issued December 4, 1923, there is described a baseball mask comprising a metallic frame with a sponge rubber padding ring attached to the frame for fitting it to the wearers face and having attachment strings or straps for removably mounting the padded ring on the frame.

Our improvements relate to new features in the horizontal bars and chin construction of masks of the type shown in this patent whereby the weight is greatly reduced without any loss of strength and in fact with an increase of the strength of the mask itself.

An object of our invention is to provide a mask as above described and wherein clear vision, up and down, as well as sideways is made possible for the wearer, and wherein glare is eliminated by positioning the reflecting surfaces of the bars so as to avoid reflection into the eyes.

Another object of our invention is to provide a catchers mask as described above and wherein the chin construction and configuration permits the wearer greater facility and ease of adjustment as well as much greater comfort in wearing the mask without cramping free movement.

These and other objects of our invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, we accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts of which we shall now describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is now made to the drawing which forms a part thereof, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of our improved catchers mask.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the metal cast which forms a portion of our novel catchers mask.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of the metal casting taken on the lines 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective of the chin portion of the mask.

Briefly, in the practice of our invention, we provide a catchers mask comprising a metal frame formed of magnesium, Duralumin or any other very light metal and having protective ribs or bars positioned in horizontal planes above and below the eyes of the wearer. These ribs are spaced apart and spaced from the frame preferably a distance less than the diameter of the ball or article (such as the puck used in hockey) being used in.

the game wherethe mask" lS-WOIll to prevent the ball or game missile frorn enteringthe apertures in the mask.

The ribs are ccnfigured so asto: place their thickness -in a -plane radial to the eyes ofthe wearer. By this construction,-the protective ribs may be relatively large in cross sectional area in order to give them unusual strength, but at the same time not obscuring the up and down vision of the eyes of the player. The frame of the metal casting of the mask is so configured that it rests on the forehead, cheek bones and chin of the player, the chin portion projecting outwardly so as to present a comfortable surface for the chin and permit movement of the jaw.

Referring to the drawings, we provide a metal casting l formed of magnesium or some other light metal and having an opened framed portion 2 and so configured that the upper part 3 of the frame portion 2 after the frame has been padded will comfortably rest against and conform to the forehead of the player. The portions d on each side of the frame 2 are configured so as to conform to the cheek bones of a player, while the lowest portion 5 projects outwardly from the frame 2 and forms a chin cup.

A padding ring 9 preferably formed of encased hair, kapok, sponge rubber or other cushion material, is bound to the back side of the frame 2 so as to present a pad between all of the metal parts of the mask and the players face.

Extending across the opening of the frame 4, we preferably provide two ribs or bars 6 spaced from each other and from the frame 2 of the mask a distance less than the diameter of the ball or game device being used.

As is apparent from Figure 3, the protective ribs 6 have a cross section '7 more or less in the form of an ellipse with the long axis in a plane radial to the eye of the player.

The chin portion 5 is a part of the, frame 2 but is offset forwardly from the remaining portion of the frame 2 so as to accommodate the chin of the player. The mask is held to the wearers head by the usual straps as shown in Figure 1.

It is apparent that when the mask is in position on the players head, his eyes are in a horizontal plane between the planes of the two ribs 8 and the mask is so configured that vision is not obstructed in this plane. However, when the player moves his eyes upwardly so that his vision is defined by the plane Hi the upper rib 5 crosses his Vision. However, due to the fact that the principal thickness of the rib 6 is in the same plane, the

only obstruction is the relatively thin cross section of the rib. This is also true when the eyes of the player glance downwardly in the plane I l. The surfaces of the frame contacting the forehead and chin and the ribs 6 are all on a substantially spherical plane, so that if a player' receives a blow or should fall upon the mask, the pressure on his face is evenly distributed between his forehead, chin and cheek bones. Further, it will be noted that the reflecting surfaces of the ribs are set at such an angle that glare in the eyes is prevented. The lower surface of the upper rib and the upper surface of the lower rib which are fiat and constitute reflecting surfaces, are so arranged that no reflection of light from above reaches the eyes of the wearer.

From the above it is apparent that we have provided a sturdy, useful mask with unusual rigidity due to the fact that the protective ribs may have a substantially cross sectional area without impairment of the vision of the player, and that we have provided an extremely comfortable, light weight, protective mask for catchers, umpires or players.

It is to be understood that modifications may be made in our invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and we do not intend to limit follows.

ourselves otherwise than in the claim which Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A mask comprising a one-piece metal casting having a padded open frame adapted to contact the forehead, cheek bones and chin of the wearer and two protective ribs extending across the frame opening in front of the face position of the wearer and in horizontal planes above and below the eye position of the wearer, the ribs having a substantially elliptical cross section with the major axis thereof in line with the eye position of the wearer.

HUGO GOLDSMITH. HOWARD J. WILKENS.

REFERENCES CREEK) The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATE$ PA'IENTS Number Name Date 2,020,248 Shibe Nov. 5, 1935 2,020,249 Shibe Nov. 5, 1935 

